Trump trails Biden in Michigan, Ohio race a virtual tie: poll

President Trump is trailing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Michigan and is neck-and-neck with his Democratic challenger in Ohio, according to a new poll of two key battleground states the president carried in 2016. 

Biden leads Trump by 6 points in Michigan, based on a CBS News poll released Sunday. 

Biden has 48 percent support compared to Trump’ 42 percent among likely Michigan voters. 

The candidates are in statistical dead heat in Ohio, with Trump at 46 percent support compared to Biden’s 45 percent, within the poll’s 3.6 percentage point margin of error. 

Trump’s response to the coronavirus may be impacting how voters are viewing the election, especially in Michigan where the majority of registered voters said Trump is doing a bad job responding to the coronavirus outbreak. Just 42 percent of Michigan voters said Trump is doing a good job, compared to 58 percent who said he is doing a bad job. 

Additionally, 44 percent of Michigan voters said the Trump administration’s efforts to contain the coronavirus has hurt the state’s efforts, based on the poll. Just 26 percent said the administration’s efforts helped the state and 29 percent said has had neither effect. 

An overwhelming majority of registered voters in both states said it is “very important” for the Trump administration to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, with 76 percent and 77 percent saying so in Michigan and Ohio, respectively. 

Similarly, 73 percent of voters in Michigan and 74 percent in Ohio said it is very important for the Trump administration to get economic relief to people. 

The poll also found that Trump still leads among white men, but his lead with those voters has narrowed since 2016. In Michigan, Trump has 54 percent support among white male likely voters compared to Biden’s 36 percent, and in Ohio Trump has 56 percent support compared to Biden’s 36 percent, based on the polls. 

The same is true among white voters without a college degree. Trump has 52 percent support among those likely voters in Michigan, compared to Biden’s 39 percent, and Trump has 58 percent support in Ohio compared to Biden’s 35 percent. 

Biden, however, has gained support among younger voters, building on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s lead in 2016. Among likely voters under 45, Biden has 56 percent support in Michigan, compared to Trump’s 31 percent. Biden has 55 percent support in Ohio, compared to Trump’s 34 percent. 

The surveys were conducted by YouGov on behalf of CBS News between July 21 and 24. They are based on samples of 1,177 registered voters in Michigan and 1,227 in Ohio. The margin of error is 3.4 percentage points for the Michigan poll and 3.6 percentage points for the Ohio poll.